Celebrate Sheldon Adelson & Lloyd Blankfein — Don’t Condemn Them

Simple random musings by a self-made New York entrepreneur who is frustrated after the election, and scared about the future of this country.

If the Republicans couldn’t win this election, how can they win any election? And for me as a self-made man who was never handed anything how can I believe that this country is headed in the right direction when America voted for handouts? As a New York City resident, I will pay close to 50 percent taxes – and when I drop dead my family will pay another 50 percent. And for that I should work 80-hour weeks?

I teach my children that in America anything is possible, and they can reach the top of the world if they work really hard. Isn’t that what America is all about?

To compound my depression about the election, in the last few weeks the scoundrels of “Occupy Wall Street” have moved up to the Upper West Side where I live and I have to see them daily. They stand near my home and the offices of 5WPR: outside of 15 Central Park West, one of the most expensive condominiums in the country.

And they complain about the Chairman of Goldman Sachs. Yes, Lloyd Blankfein is guilty of being rich. Yes, Blankfein makes millions of dollars – and it’s after being raised in housing projects in the Bronx, where his dad worked as a clerk for the United States Postal Service. During High School, Blankfein sold hot dogs at Yankee Stadium, and during college to pay for Harvard University he had to work in the cafeteria. For me, who also grew up in the Bronx without a lot of money I view Blankfein as a role model – he worked hard to get to the top. Isn’t that what’s great about America? The boy next door can conquer the world – and what’s so bad about that?

Or Sheldon Adelson, who the Obama campaign demonized – and is also a self-made mega-entrepreneur. Adelson and Blankfein are good men, who give charity and created tens of thousands of jobs – yet are demonized in today’s environment.

The state of California passed a bill that taxes anyone making $250k an extra 4%. That 4% essentially gets distributed directly to college kids as state schools. Why not just vote to kick people who make that much out of their homes and give them to low income families? Or anyone with incomes over $1 million, let’s just tax them at 100%. The majority would vote for that, lots of money for other people.

It is very scary to think that we live in a society where the tax policy is plain and simple wealth redistribution. Politicians would rather raise taxes than balance a budget. Obama started this war on the wealthy – and it has to be scary for many people who dream of being more successful.

Ronn Torossian founded 5WPR, a Public Relations Agency. He is also a philanthropist via the Ronn Torossian Family foundation.